Dortmund to treat every game as a final in bid for top four, says Gross

Football - Champions League - Quarter Final - Second Leg - Borussia Dortmund v FC Barcelona - Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund, Germany - Apr 15, 2025 Borussia Dortmund's Pascal Gross reacts REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen

Borussia Dortmund will approach every match like a final as they push for a top four finish in the Bundesliga, midfielder Pascal Gross said ahead of Sunday's home game against seventh-placed Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Dortmund are eighth in the table with 42 points from 29 games, their worst position since 2014-15 when they finished seventh. They trail fourth-placed RB Leipzig by six points with five games remaining in the season.

Dortmund's confidence in securing a European spot has grown, with Gross seeing his side's 3-1 midweek home win over Barcelona in the Champions League as a boost, despite the side losing 5-3 on aggregate, which eliminated them from the competition.

"In this stadium, with the fans, you can beat any team in the world. (Missing out) on that would hurt a lot," Gross told reporters on Saturday.

"That's why we need to do everything in our power in the final five games to get as many points as we possibly can. This season is crazy. We've almost lost too many games already to be able to reach that goal.

"But when you look at the table, you can see that anything is possible. The next five games are all finals for us."

The 33-year-old added that the team was more cohesive now, "I feel like we're more solid now. If one person makes a mistake, someone else smoothes it out for him. That helps you to trust in what you're doing."

Dortmund manager Nico Kovac called for more passion and aggression in the next five games and said captain Emre Can and midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka, who missed the Barcelona game with injury, are in contention to feature against Gladbach.